recent email reply....hey someone else clued to the Safety Code 6
did you catch the smear of another govt corporation, JL? haha....hey, we're not nearly as bad as the BC Ferries!!
Thank you for this response even though I didn’t particularly require one. I recognize that with this continued effort your corporation is attempting to whittle away at the last remaining strongholds against this initiative like an incessant badger in the hope that we all cave in light of your ongoing brainwashing and propaganda onslaught. Of course I realize you will probably succeed, however, not on account of this household and hopefully not easily or prior to the next election. As per your paragraphs, see my responses below:
-Thank you for noting this on my account….will it make a difference??
-Modernization does not mean potentially exposing to unknown health risks or permitting infringements on privacy, no matter how low or considered trivial by your firm. As an aside, a 50% increase in consumption of power means we have failed as a community, province and country to conserve energy which is very sad but means nothing to me personally, I have reduced my consumption steadily yet my bill keeps going up….of course!
-Again, being part of the 5% doesn’t make an impression on me, I won’t have one of these units installed on my property, thank you. Your threats of increased fees to retain my current power meter which has worked just fine since I moved here 20 years ago is basic blackmail.
-As to the info paragraphs you provide, they do not change my stance on the issues. Your silly statistical reference for example to exposure on BC Ferries only highlights that you don’t understand the value of personal choice. I happen to have at least a reasonable choice taking the ferry, not which electricity provide I prefer or that I require electricity. You have presented nothing that allays my concerns except perhaps that you accept the ridiculously outdated Safety Code 6 a valid document, which only serves to heighten them. I am an occupational health and safety specialist and happen to share the view that your reference is laughable.
-Your final paragraphs appear to contradict your foregoing first statement, indicating there is no opt-out option. Please note you have a monopoly on this service and I would opt to choose a different provider if I could, merely and purely based on your approach to this whole issue of driving this down everyone’s throats just because some group in your midst came up with smart meters as a brilliant yet totally unbaked idea…..How is the recouping of money going, by the way?? How many decades will it take and how do your meter readers and their families feel? Nothing in our service agreements, again, would indicate that I must consider infringing on my privacy or accept potential exposure to health risks because of the services you provide.
Please stop sending me more junk-mail of this type.
Regretfully.
kus
Victoria BC
Hydro Propaganda as follows:
Dear Mr. Kus
Thank you for contacting BC Hydro’s Smart Metering Department regarding the installation of a smart meter at your premises. BC Hydro is continuing to work with customers to answer questions about the new metering system. We feel it is important to maintain a dialogue with our customers to ensure that we have adequately provided this information. In the meantime, we will not install a smart meter at your premises without your agreement. We have noted on your account that you do not accept a smart meter at this time.
The Smart Metering Program is about a lot more than replacing the meters – it’s about upgrading our entire electricity system including meter sampling, distribution system maintenance, outage management, and energy load analysis. Compared to 50 years ago when our electricity grid was built, British Columbians are using new devices such as smart phones, computers and electric vehicles that all use more power. BC Hydro must modernize our electricity grid to keep up with the times and meet the current needs of our customers. Making this investment now is essential to keeping your rates among the lowest in North America as a 50% increase in electricity demand is projected over the next 20 years.
Currently 95 per cent, or 1.77 million smart meters have been installed, and a large percentage of these meters have been in operation for over a year. We need to complete the remaining 5% of installations in order to ensure that the electricity system can work optimally. The old meters are not compatible with the new system and it will become increasingly difficult to support them. It will cost far more to set-up and maintain incompatible and separate systems to serve customers without a smart meter and those extra costs will have to be passed on to customers. For this reason, keeping the old meter on your premises is not an option. We’d like to continue to work with you to understand your concerns before proceeding with the final meter installations.
Here is a little more information about a few topics some of our customers are concerned about.
Smart meters are safe, secure and accurate.
Safety is a core value at BC Hydro. This includes safety of both our customers and our employees, the majority of whom our BC Hydro customers as well. Despite the fact that radio signals such as those emitted by smart meters have been used safely for decades many customers still have concerns about public health. In response to these concerns, BC Hydro sought the opinion of the Provincial Health Officer, Health Canada, and the World Health Organization, all of whom have confirmed that wireless meters pose no known health risk or reason for concern. In fact, Health Canada has said: In the case of RF fields, health effects research on the subject has been ongoing for over 50 years and there are thousands of published studies. There is a great weight of evidence that RF field intensities below Safety Code 6 are not harmful.
The new meters use a wireless signal to transmit consumption and power quality information three times a day for a total of less than one minute each day. This signal is similar to a common radio or television signal has a strength level of less than 50 per cent of the strictest standards in the world, which are the precautionary limits set by Switzerland for schools and hospitals.
To put this into context, passengers taking the ferry between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay ferry terminals are exposed to the equivalent of 35 years’ worth of BC Hydro smart meter radio frequency in a single 1-hour and forty minute journey. More information about smart meters and radiofrequency, including the independent studies, can be found on our website at
www.bchydro.com/smartmeters_safety.
Protecting Your Privacy is paramount. Protecting customer privacy is a priority for BC Hydro. BC Hydro is required by law to manage customer information according to the B.C. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA). This Act prohibits BC Hydro from selling or disclosing personal information to third parties, unless required to do so by law. In response to customer concerns B.C.'s Information and Privacy Commissioner released a report into the Smart Metering Program's compliance with the Act. They confirmed that we have taken the right steps to protect our customers' information throughout the planning and implementation of the Smart Metering Program.
BC Hydro collects personal information like your name and address in order to establish and maintain your account and to provide electricity service. With smart meters, BC Hydro collects your hourly consumption information, which is also treated as personal information, to bill you for electricity service. The new meter will measure and report the aggregate amount of energy used in your home on an hourly basis, and three times per day it will send the previous eight hours of consumption information to BC Hydro. The meter itself does not contain any personal identifiers like your name, your address or your account number.
Security industry professionals recognize that the industry best practice of using multiple layers of security is the best way to ensure there are no single points of vulnerability from either a security or privacy perspective. BC Hydro's smart meters use multiple layers of security: the data is encrypted similar to online banking, transmitted through secure channels, processed in secured facilities, and managed by rigorous access control policies.
Measurement Canada ensures meter accuracy. BC Hydro is responsible for delivering electricity to its customers safely and reliably. All electricity meters are governed by Measurement Canada, a federal consumer protection agency, which has sole jurisdiction for the administration and enforcement of the Weights and Measures Act and the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act (Canada). Meters are tested extensively to ensure that every customer has a meter that is safe and working properly, and that meters meet BC Hydro and Measurement Canada accuracy standards.
The risk of a smart meter causing electrical problems is extremely low. The meters undergo extensive testing to comply with industry standards and ensure they are safe. They do not carry a charge and are designed so that it is impossible for the connectors to come into contact with each other so the risk of them causing electrical problems is the same extremely low risk that exists with the old meters.
A report by BC’s Provincial Fire Chief, Len Garis, showed that fires caused by electrical distribution equipment are extremely rare, and have actually decreased since smart meter installation began in July 2011. You can find this report online at
https://colwood.civicweb.net/Documents/ ... x?ID=59885.
We need your assistance to ensure all smart meters are installed at all BC Hydro customers’ premises. As mentioned earlier, we need to complete the remaining 5% of installations in order to ensure that the electricity system can work optimally. We do not have an opt-out option, and un-installing a new BC Hydro meter is not an option. We can’t remove a smart meter once it has been installed because they are now standard operating equipment like utility poles and power lines. The old meters are being recycled and are no longer available.
In addition, when you request service from BC Hydro, you agree to the terms and conditions in BC Hydro’s Electric Tariff, including the obligation to provide access to your property so that we can read, maintain or exchange the BC Hydro meter.
I hope you have found the information outlined in this letter helpful. If you would like more information about the program and why we need to install the new meter, please contact us directly to speak to a member of the Smart Metering Specialist Team. To schedule the smart meter installation or to discuss the matter further, you can email us
or phone us at 1-800-409-8199.
Additional information about BC Hydro’s Smart Metering Program can be found at
www.bchydro.com/smartmeters.
Thank you again for expressing your questions and concerns.
Sincerely,
Sajeeta Saroop
Customer Experience Manager
BC Hydro Smart Metering Program
All while ramming 'omnibus' legislation through Parliament that include deregulation of lakes & streams etc. in Cheney like fashion. FUCKERS
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